


Telling Stories

by DaemonMeg



Series: True Lies [1]
Category: Loki: Agent of Asgard, Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 20:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1756543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaemonMeg/pseuds/DaemonMeg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki tells Verity a story in exchange for her assistance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Telling Stories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yavannie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yavannie/gifts).



She helped herself to his freezer and knocked a few cubes free of the plastic ice tray. Both tumblers filled now with ice, Verity poured enough Seagram’s to fill the rock’s glasses half full of gin and then topped them with pineapple-orange juice. She might still mix drinks like a college kid, but at least she could still drink like one, too.

She balanced both glasses in her left hand, grabbed an open bag of crunchy Cheeto’s, and walked back into the living room where Loki waited slouched on the sofa. She settled cross-legged on the area rug, dropped the snack bag in front of her, and then passed Loki his drink. Her black sweater slid off of her shoulder and a dark blue rose peeked over the neckline.

“So, God of Mischief. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting when you said that you owed me dinner.” She waited, but Loki didn’t answer her. He swirled the ice in the glass and then drained it. Verity gave an involuntary shudder because she knew just how strong that drink was. “But it will do.”

“Verity Willis, Truth Seer,” he began. “Gah. Is that too melodramatic?”

“Well, it’s better than some other things people have called me.”

He turned his deep green eyes on her. “Verity, let me tell you a story.”

She rolled on the carpet and settled propped on her elbows with the drink within easy reach. She’d looked forward to this for some time, but didn’t know what to expect. All her life, she’d seen through the lies of fiction in film and books. What would this be like?

“Once upon a time, I went on a journey with my brother Thor and two children. We were traveling near a forest and took shelter for the night in an abandoned building. The hall was immense, larger even than the feast hall in Utgard, but empty, and we made camp in one of the side rooms. As we drifted to sleep, the walls wavered and the ground jumped and shook beneath us. I stayed brave and calmed my brother and the children.”

“Liar,” Verity said with a grin.

“Well, maybe Thor didn’t need comfort. He just gripped his hammer Mjolnir and prepared for attack, but none came.” Loki tilted the glass back and sucked one of the ice cubes into his mouth, crunching it between his teeth.

Her glasses began to slide, so Verity wriggled her nose to move them back into place. “So? Was there an attack?”

“No. There was no attack, but it wasn’t an earthquake as you would know it. We left the building in fear that the walls would tumble around us and struck camp beneath a tree. My brother awoke when the moon was high in the sky when the world trembled around us. He discovered that the building we had vacated was actually the glove of the giant Skrymir, and the tremors were the result of his nighttime snores.”

_He wasn’t lying._ “Are you telling me you spent the night in the glove of a giant with sleep apnea?”

“Well, yes, but that’s not the good part.” Loki just pushed his hair back from his forehead and crossed one ankle over his knee. “So, Thor gets all cranky because he can’t sleep so he climbs this mountain of a sleeping giant and starts hitting him in the head with Mjolnir, but nothing happens. Finally, Skrymir wakes up and with the utmost disdain, he gets up and slings his back pack over his shoulder and stalks off into the woods to get away from my brother.”

“Wait!” Verity scrambled off the rug and ran to the kitchen. She trotted back with the bottle of gin and carton of juice. It was really amazing. Every word Loki uttered opened up a world of possibilities for her-everything she missed as a child unable to believe in fairy tales, Santa, or the monster under the bed. _Giants!_

“Okay, go on!” she urged as she refilled both their glasses.

“So the next morning we came to an immense castle that dwarfed any we’d seen before,” continued Loki. “We walked through the gate and into the great feast hall peopled by folk as tall as the highest mountain peaks and the king of the giants. We wished to break our fast with them, but the king insisted we must perform great feats of strength in order to stay in his company.”

“Well, you’re gods and all, right? That should be easy.”

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” He sipped his gin and juice, pulling a face at how strong Verity had mixed this one. “Naturally, I volunteered that I could eat faster than anyone. I mean. You know what a foodie I am Verity. We’ve had enough dinners together now that you know how much I appreciate a good meal.”

“So what happened?”

“Me and another guy by the name of Logi-“

“Logi? Loki v. Logi? Are you serious? Of course you are. Never mind.” She noticed he was staring at her bared shoulder.

“We began eating and we met in the middle-“

“Like Lady and the Tramp?” she interrupted.

“We met in the middle,” Loki said over her, “and it turns out that while I ate all the food on my side in the same time, Logi had eaten his food, the bones, the plate, and even the tablecloth beneath it. I hung my head in shame at the loss.”

Verity sloppily patted his knee, encouraging him to continue.

“Thor would not be outdone though, and he agreed to a drinking contest. Unfortunately, he had to put down his drinking horn after the third gulp. Next, he tried a game of strength and attempted to lift the castle tabby cat. But as is the nature of cats, the feline was uncooperative. It arched its back, hissed, and only allowed a single paw to be lifted from the ground. Finally, Thor challenged the king to a wrestling match with a champion of his choosing. At this point, the giants felt so bad for Thor that they sent out a single, bent old woman for my brother to grapple. As the night wore on, Thor struggled more and more, and finally had to admit defeat and take a knee.”

“So,” began Verity, “you may be gods but you can’t compare to giants, is that it?”

Loki gave her a wink, emerald eyes twinkling and said, “Come morning, we prepared to leave the hall in shame, but the king of the giants called us to a halt. He admitted it was all an illusion. The drinking horn possessed the ocean, the cat was the great serpent Jörmungandr, and the wizened woman was Old Age Herself, whom no one can fight against.”

“And you? What about the man who faced you in the eating contest?” Loki smirked. “He was fire personified. The flames consumed all in its path, which explains why it was able to devour the table linens and flatware in addition to the food.”

“What did you do?”

“I? I did nothing. But my temperamental brother pulled Mjolnir from his hip and swung it at the king of the giants in anger, only to have the head of the great hammer sweep through empty air. The castle and all its inhabitants had vanished.” He finished with a broad sweep of his hands, just like a magician.

She sat up quickly and clapped her hands. Really, it was so unlike anything she had experienced before. It should be fantastical and beyond belief, but there she sat hanging on every word. Loki had opened up a world of experiences for her, and he didn’t even realize what he’d done for her.

He looked at her from beneath his long eye lashes. “You liked my story.”

“Very much. More than you realize.” Or maybe he did. Could he hear how fast her heart beat to listen to such a magical story?

“What do you say, Verity Willis? Will you continue this mutually beneficial relationship? Assistance for true stories of magic?” He gestured at them both with his half empty glass.

“If you can guarantee me more stories of that caliber, we have a deal.” She felt the neckline of her sweater slide further down her shoulder, but she knew she wouldn’t pull it back up.

“I have more where that came from.” His smile was slow and full of promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!! I hope you enjoyed this. I noticed a dearth of Verity Willis fics and thought the fandom could use some more. This premise is based on something my friend said about Verity helping Loki in exchange for stories since she was never able to enjoy fiction before. My soft heart had to add some teensy bits of tension though, so I hope you forgive me.
> 
> This is the first time I've written in this fandom.


End file.
